Switzerland must resist regulation of online speech

As Bern prepares to regulate social networks, misinformation and hate speech return to the heart of the public information service issue. Some want a stricter framework, but digital hell is paved with good intentions.

No sooner has the Federal Council announced its draft law on the regulation of social networks than criticism is already pouring in. The current text proposes to regulate the moderation procedure rather than content. A minimalist approach, targeting only the very largest platforms, at a time when the European Union, with its Digital Services Act, applies stricter regulation. The 120 million euro fine imposed by the European Commission on X is a recent example of this, having provoked strong reactions all the way to the Trump administration and prompted the platform's boss, Elon Musk, to call for the European Commission to take action.